Northwest RVing

The Northwest RVing Blog site is hosted by MHRV (Manufactured Housing and Recreational Vehicle) Show Association. Each year, MHRV presents two important trade shows in the greater Seattle area to promote and display the RV Lifestyle. We are all about RVing and hope you will enjoy the many articles posted here about RVing in general and about our upcoming shows.

Exploring the RV Lifestyle - Getting Ready

As someone who is very involved in RV Shows and promoting the RV Lifestyle, I must admit that I have only been RVing for a short weekend several years ago. Traveling with a friend, we had such a great time and talk about it to this day. We decided last Fall that it would be fun to take a longer trip and really experience RVing and the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. As I investigated RV rentals, one of the MHRV dealers, Tacoma RV, offered to lend us their “employee” motorhome for a week. It's used to encourage their employees to venture out and gain direct experience of what it’s like to travel and camp in an RV so they are better informed with customers. How fortunate we were to have this opportunity to travel in a 29-foot Class C Coach!

RV Adventuring - What If You Need Help?

The Pacific Northwest offers such a wide array of geographic areas to explore. You can head west to the Ocean, east to the Rocky Mountains, southeast to the Oregon desert and north to remote areas along the Canadian border. In between you have Puget Sound, the Willamette Valley, the Cascade Mountains, several national parks, designated wilderness areas, lakes, mountain streams, volcanic peaks and so much more on which to recreate.

The recreational opportunities you can enjoy are practically endless. There is hiking, biking, mountain climbing, ATVing, fishing, hang gliding, skiing, bouldering, boating, snowmobiling, Geocaching and white water rafting to name a few.

But what happens when you twist an ankle, become lost, your bike breaks, you are caught in a freak storm, stuck above a cliff or become hypothermic during a storm (etc.) when you are far from your vehicle?

Should I Use Solar For My RV?

You probably already know this because everyone is talking about it. RV solar panels are devices that convert sunlight into electricity for running equipment in your RV. They usually are mounted to the roof of your coach to capture the sunlight and send a charge to your batteries. This a great way to save energy and maximize your battery life, but is it right for you?

Don't Wake the Baby - Life After Bedtime

Anyone who has had children knows the struggle that can come with putting your baby to bed. Once they finally doze off to sleep you will do anything to avoid waking them up. Whispering, tiptoeing, or holding your breath sound familiar? That’s definitely been the case with our son. Bedtime can be a challenge no matter where you are. Putting your baby to bed in an RV may seem no different than putting them to bed at home except for one key thing: there’s no door! While RVs offer great spaces that function as extra sleeping quarters, to call these actual bedrooms would require a physical door closing off the space. With curtains that often provide privacy for these areas, doors are not a necessity in RVs. But when it comes to your baby’s sleeping area, the challenge lies in the fact that there is no door to cancel out noise or darken the space. So once your baby is put down for a nap or early bed time, how do you continue to enjoy yourself or use your RV without waking your precious little one?

Filling Up the Toyhauler

Two new partnerships were formed at this year's Puyallup RV Show; a new presenting sponsorship with TwinStar Credit Union and a charitable partnership with Emergency Food Network (EFN). A special promotion to "Fill the Toyhauler" was introduced asking people to bring non-perishable food items and place them in the toyhauler just inside the gate. Food items would go to EFN while the Puyallup RV Show (MHRV Show Association) along with TwinStar Credit Union would match these donations pound for pound. The promotion helped support EFN's May Hunger Awareness Month in Pierce County.